1_Path to Kyivan Rus

This is the first #generalhistory note

Return to Ancient Times: The Greeks and Early Ukraine

• Herodotus was the first historian to describe the peoples living in what is now Ukraine.
• Since ancient times, Ukraine has been divided into three main regions based on migration and settlement patterns: the coast, the steppe, and the mixed forest-steppe. The coastal region was dominated by Mediterranean powers, with the Hellenic civilizations establishing colonies there. The steppe served as the "gateway to Europe" for numerous nomadic tribes from Asia, while the forest-steppe was home to agricultural societies, notably the Trypillya culture (mid-5th to 3rd millennia BCE). The marshlands across these regions were both battlegrounds and conduits for cultural exchange.
• Returning to the Greeks, in the 6th-7th centuries BCE, they founded numerous colonies in Crimea and along the Sea of Azov. After the decline of Greek influence, the Romans took their place. The steppe was successively occupied by the Cimmerians, Scythians, and Sarmatians, who maintained trade relations with the coastal colonies.

Migration Waves

• In 200 CE, the Goths, migrating from the Baltic region, displaced the Sarmatians. Around a century later, the Huns invaded from the east, displacing the Goths.
• The Bulgars and Avars followed in the 5th and 6th centuries.
• Between the 7th and 9th centuries, the Turkic Khazars incorporated the steppe into their empire, and Kyiv emerged as their westernmost outpost.
• In the 9th century, the Magyars broke Khazar control of the steppe.
• The Pechenegs dominated southern Ukraine in the 10th and 11th centuries, followed by the Polovtsians (Cumans).
• Throughout these waves of nomadic invasions, few ancient colonies survived, primarily in Crimea. The most notable of these was Chersonesus, which relied heavily on Byzantine aid to endure.

The Slavs

• The movement of the Slavs into present-day Ukraine began in the 5th and 6th centuries, as they migrated south from north of the Carpathians.
• The Slavs divided into southern and eastern branches. The southern Slavs moved into the Balkans, while the eastern Slavs gradually occupied western and north-central Ukraine and southern Belarus, eventually expanding into what would become the Russian state centered around Moscow.
• The eastern Slavs practiced agriculture, domesticated animals, and built fortified settlements.

The Vikings (Varangians)

• Due to the instability of the competing Volga route, which was disrupted by internal Khazar conflicts and Arab interference with Byzantine trade elsewhere, the Dnieper River became an important trade route connecting the Baltic Sea to Byzantium. This shift led the Varangians (also known as the Rus, possibly from the Finnish word for 'rowers') to migrate from Nordic regions to exploit both the Volga and Dnieper trade routes, selling furs, honey, and slaves to Middle Eastern markets.
• To dominate these trade routes, they needed to compete with the Khazars and force local Slavic tribes into a tribute system, primarily through military force.
• After partially achieving this, the Varangians became the primary suppliers of goods to Byzantium in the region, solidifying this role through treaties in 911 and 944.
• However, tensions existed between the local Slavic elites and the Viking rulers, with chronicles suggesting that the Varangians needed to use deception to crush revolts, such as the Derevlian uprising, indicating they did not have overwhelming military might.
• Around 970, the Varangian leader Sviatoslav launched campaigns against the last independent Slavic tribes and the Khazars, successfully defeating both. However, instead of consolidating these victories, he turned his attention to the Danube region. Initially, he fought alongside the Byzantines against the Bulgars, but later came into conflict with them over territorial control.
• The Byzantines responded by bribing the Pechenegs to attack Kyiv while Sviatoslav was away. After returning to stabilize the city, he marched back to the Danube but was defeated by a Byzantine force.
• While retreating, he was ambushed and killed by the Pechenegs, exposing a key vulnerability: although the Varangians controlled Kyiv, they lacked the ability to secure safe passage through the steppe.

Kyivan Rus is formed

• Sviatoslav’s successor, Volodymyr the Great, changed the strategic approach to ruling the realm. Rather than simply competing with Constantinople militarily and relying on it economically, the Varangians now sought to emulate Byzantine civilization itself.
• To achieve this, the traditional system of tribute-based rule was transformed into a structured medieval state with defined borders, a system of governance, and, over time, an ideological foundation. This transformation was further developed under Volodymyr’s son, Yaroslav the Wise, effectively ending the Viking age.
• This shift was also reflected in Volodymyr’s treatment of different groups. Under his reign, the terms "Slavs" and "Rus" became interchangeable. New Viking arrivals, whom he needed to seize the throne, were treated as mercenaries rather than rulers or traders. To further limit external influence, he appointed family members to govern different parts of the realm, laying the foundation for the future system of municipalities.
• Militarily, Volodymyr continued his father’s expansionist policies, defeating the Khazars and the Bulgars again. However, he also adopted new strategies, such as pushing Polish forces westward and reinforcing Kyiv’s defenses against the Pechenegs.
• A major turning point came in Volodymyr’s dealings with Byzantium. After fighting alongside the Byzantines, he was promised marriage to the emperor’s sister. When this promise was broken, he invaded Byzantine-controlled Crimea. The emperor eventually relented, on the condition that Volodymyr convert to eastern Christianity.
• Volodymyr agreed, marking a decisive moment in the cultural transformation of Kyivan Rus. While Byzantine missionaries, most notably Cyril and Methodius, had already introduced Church Slavonic, his conversion allowed the formal establishment of the Metropolitanate of Rus, leading to deeper cultural and ideological integration with Byzantium.
• This marks the foundation of Kyivan Rus.

Continuation

Continues in 2_Fall of the Kyivan Rus

Sources

This information was gathered from chapter one of The Gates of Europe_A History of Ukraine (Pages 24-35) and Britannica, with a foundation in the first chapter of History of Everything's series.